Noralis Rodríguez Coss
Assistant Professor
Gonzaga University
Education
2016 Ph.D. Feminist Studies
University of Washington
Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Dissertation: Feminist Street Performances in Puerto Rico: Alternative Imaginaries of the Ideal National Body
Dissertation Advisors: Dr. Angela B. Ginorio and Dr. Shirley Yee
2010 M. A. Women’s Studies
Southern Connecticut State University
Thesis: Challenges of the Third Wave: Mobilizing Young Women to the Feminist Movements in Puerto Rico
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Ilene Crawford
2004 B. A. Office System Administration
Magna Cum Laude
University of Puerto Rico at Humacao (UPRH)
Research and Teaching Interests
Major interests include: Feminist, queer, and critical race theory; Women of Color feminist theories and epistemologies; Performance, Caribbean, Puerto Rican, Violence, Decolonial, and Island Studies; popular culture; public protests; and feminist activisms.
Employment History
2018-Present Assistant Professor
Department of Women’s & Gender Studies
Gonzaga University
2016-2018 Post-doctoral Teaching Fellowship for Underrepresented Minorities
Department of Women & Gender Studies
Gonzaga University
Peer-reviewed Publications
Karides, M., & Rodríguez-Coss, N. (2022). Island Feminisms in/on Island Studies: Place, Justice, Movement. Shima, 16(1), 137–142. 10.21463/shima.153
Rodríguez Coss, N. (2020). An Intersectional Analysis of Island Feminist Praxis in Puerto Rico. In F. Gaini & H. Pristed Nielsen (Eds.), Gender and island communities (pp. 82-99). Routledge.
Pristed Nielsen, H. & Rodríguez-Coss, N. (2020). Island Studies through Love and Affection to Power and Politics. In F. Gaini & H. Pristed Nielsen (Eds.), Gender and island communities (pp. 158-173). Routledge.
Valdovinos, M. G., Rodríguez-Coss, N., & Parekh, R. (2020). Healing through Ancestral Knowledge and Letters to Our Children: Mothering Infants during a Global Pandemic. Genealogy, 4(4), 119. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4040119
Rodríguez Coss, N. (2020, March). A Feminist Intersectional Analysis of Economic and Resource (In)Equality in Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria. Gonzaga Journal of International Law, 23(1), 97–113.
Rodríguez Coss, N. (2020). Re-framing the enemy within in academia. In J. Van Galen & J. Sablan (Eds.), Amplified voices, intersectional identities (pp. 137-142). Brill Publishers.
Courses Taught
Gonzaga University, 2016-Present
WGST 499 Symposium
WGST 380 Transnational Feminism
WGST 202 Gender, Difference, and Power
WGST 205 Gender & Popular Culture
WGST 193 Love
WGST 193 Feminist Activism in Latin America and the Caribbean
Related Teaching Experience
2016 Participant, “Course Design Institute – Summer 2016”
Center for Teaching and Advising
Gonzaga University
2014 Workshop Designer and Facilitator, “Presenting Your Research Effectively” and “Planning and Facilitating
Discussions,” Teaching and Research Assistant Conference, University of Washington – Seattle.
2012 Workshop Designer and Facilitator, “Motivating Students to Learn: Applying principles of Learning to Teaching”
and “Responding to Longer Student Essays and Assigning Grades,” Teaching and Research Assistant Conference, University of Washington – Seattle.
Related Professional Activities
2008 Ella T. Grasso Leadership Program Conference Coordinator
Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame
2004 Program Coordinator
ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Program of the National Science Foundation
University of Puerto Rico at Humacao
Awards and Honors
2019 International Education Council (IEC) Global Engagement Faculty Development Fund, Gonzaga University.
2016 Under-represented Minority Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellowship (Competitive selection)
Gonzaga University
2014 National Women's Studies Association Graduate Scholarship
2014 Doman Award for Excellence in Teaching
2014 Women of Color Leadership Project Participant (Competitive selection)
National Women’s Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2010 Departmental Service Award (with the Women of Color Collective)
Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
University of Washington
2008 Women of Color Caucus Essay Award
National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference
Grants and Fellowships
2019 Digital Humanities Fellowship, Digital Humanities Initiative, Gonzaga University
2016 Post-doctoral Teaching Fellowship for Underrepresented Minorities, Gonzaga University
2014 GO-MAP Stroum Endowed Minority Fellowship
2012 Herring-Phelps Endowment for the Empowerment of Women (with Women of Color Collective)
University of Washington, Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies
2010 UW Graduate Opportunity & Minority Achievement Program
Peer-Reviewed Conference Presentations
International Conferences
2018 Panel Presentation: “A Feminist Intersectional Analysis of Economic and Resource (In)Equality in Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria
Gonzaga Law Human Rights Conference, Florence, Italy
2018 Roundtable: “Una mirada histórica de los feminismos latinoamericanos y caribeños: temas, paradigmas y puntos de inflexión”
Latin American Studies Association, Barcelona, Spain
2016 “Island Feminist Studies: A theoretical overview of the ideal national body and Puerto Rico’s feminisms”
Panel: “Why Island Feminism?” (Invited talk)
14th International Small Islands Studies Association, University of the Aegean, Lesvos Island, Greece
2008 “Equidad y Transparencia: Lecciones Aprendidas de los Procesos de Reclutamiento y Retención de las Mujeres en las Ciencias en la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Humacao” Mundo de Mujeres/ Women’s Worlds Congress
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
National Conferences
2019 “Island feminist praxis in Puerto Rico” Paper presentation at the 2019 National Women’s Studies Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.
2019 “Transnational and Transgenerational Mentoring: Women of Color Transforming Academic Borders” Roundtable presentation at the 2019 National Women’s Studies Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.
2019 “Estudios sobre la Perspectiva Feminista Isleña y Colaboraciones Transnacionales”
Paper presentation at the XII Coloquio Nacional Sobre Las Mujeres, University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, San Juan, PR
2019 “Transitando espacios hacia los estudios feministas” Panel presentation at the XII Coloquio Nacional Sobre Las Mujeres, University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, San Juan, PR
2017 “‘Los vamos a sacar vivos o muertos’: An Island Feminist Perspective on Identity, Community Struggle, Police Brutality and Race in Puerto Rico”
National Women's Studies Association Conference, Baltimore, MD
2017 Roundtable: “A Transnational Dialogue on Island Feminisms” (organizer and participant)
National Women's Studies Association Conference, Baltimore, MD
2017 “Perspectiva feminista-isleña sobre la construcción del cuerpo femenino en Puerto Rico”
XI Coloquio Nacional sobre las Mujeres, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
2016 Panel: “Island Feminism” (Invited Paper)
37th Annual Hawai'i Sociological Association Conference
University of Hawai'i at Hilo
2015 Panel: “Transformaciones de Vida: Rol de las Universidades desde la Intervención a la Formación Professional” (Invited Paper)
XI Conferencia Anual de Agresión Sexual
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
2014 “¡No tengo opciones!: Understanding state and colonial violence through feminist street performance art in Puerto Rico”
National Women's Studies Association Conference, San Juan, PR
2014 “Bodies Speaking from the Ground: Contesting Cultural Construction of the Ideal National Body in Puerto Rico”
National Women's Studies Association Conference, San Juan, PR
2014 “Rehearsing Feminisms: Collaborating with Interactive Theater in Academic Settings
Race and Pedagogy National Conference”
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2013 “Decolonizing women’s bodies: Imagining possibilities for anti-violence through radical feminist performance in Puerto Rico”
Critical Ethnic Studies Conference, University of Illinois, Chicago
2012 “Decolonizing women’s bodies: Imagining possibilities for anti-violence through radical feminist performance in Puerto Rico”
National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Oakland, CA
2011 “Playing at Science: Theatrical consciousness-raising about women in science”
National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO
2010 Panel presentation: “Challenges of the Third Wave: Young Women & Feminist Movements of Puerto Rico”
19th Annual Women's Studies Conference
Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
Collaborative Research Experience
2016-present Island Feminisms Project
Collaborator: Marina Karides, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
2013 Women Who Rock Community Project, University of Washington
Supervisor: Dr. Michelle Habell-Pallán
2012 Rural Girls in Science Project (NSF Funded), University of Washington
Principal Investigator: Dr. Angela B. Ginorio
Invited Talks and Workshops
2017 Island Feminism and Feminist Studies
Graduate Seminar: Global Women of Color
University of Florida
2016 Panel: “Why Island Feminism?”
14th International Small Islands Studies Association Conference (ISISA)
Lesvos Island, Greece
2016 Panel: “Island Feminism”
37th Annual Hawai’i Sociological Association Conference
University of Hawai’i at Hilo
2015 Panel: “Transformaciones de Vida: Rol de las Universidades desde la Intervención a la Formación Professional”
XI Conferencia Anual de Agresión Sexual
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
2015 Public Lecture: “Speaking From the Ground: A Critical Analysis of Feminist
Street Performance, Gender and Nationhood in Puerto Rico”
South Puget Sound Community College
Classroom Presentations
2021 “A Feminist Perspective On Colonialism and Environmental Justice in Puerto Rico”
Department of Geography and Environment Lecture Series, Spring 2021
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
2019 “Island Feminist Praxis in Puerto Rico”
Course: Encounters in Public Spheres
Gonzaga University
2019 “Neocolonialism in Puerto Rico”
Course: Justice and Art in Civic Life
Gonzaga University
2018 “Feminist Street Performance Denouncing Gender-based Violence”
Course: Latin American Theater
Gonzaga University
2018 “Estereotipos y Prejuicios en los Medios de Comunicación”
Course: Introducción a los Medios Masivos
Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico
2017 “Leraning Gender, Intersectioinality and Privilege”
Course: Multicultural Counseling
Gonzaga University
2015 “Feminist Street Performances in Puerto Rico”
Course: Histories and Movements of Gender and Sexuality
University of Washington – Bothell
2015 “Feminist Street Performance in Puerto Rico”
Course: Intercultural Communication
South Puget Sound Community College
2014 “Feminist Street Performances in Puerto Rico”
Course: Psychology of Women
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey
2014 “Feminist Street Performances in Puerto Rico”
Workshop for Prevention of Violence against Women Program
University of Puerto Rico at Humacao
2014 “Feminist Street Performances in Puerto Rico”
Course: Meanings and Realities of Inequality
University of Washington – Bothell
2013 “Feminist Street Performances in Puerto Rico”
Course: Latina Cultural Production Course
University of Washington – Seattle
2011 “Home and Work”
Course: Race, Class and Gender in Social Stratification
University of Washington – Seattle
Professional Service
2021 Co-organizer, Spring 2021 Island Feminisms Speaker Series
Island Feminisms Project (www.islandfeminisms.org)
2019 Reviewer, Hypatia "Indigenizing and Decolonizing Feminist Philosophy”
Volume 35 - Special Issue 1 - Winter 2020
2019 Respondent, “Carving Freedoms and Forging Alternative Futures in Latin America and the Caribbean”
6th Biennial Ethnicity, Race, and Indigenous Peoples Conference
Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
2017 Guest speaker: “Estereotipos y Prejuicios en los Medios de Comunicación”
Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico
2015 Discussant, “Artivismo: Otra clase de activismo”
XI Conferencia Anual de Agresión Sexual
University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez
2014 Session Organizer, “Crossing Disciplinary Borders: Innovating to Educate”
Race and Pedagogy National Conference
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2014 Discussant, “Juntillas de Activismo Performático: Otro Tipo de Activismo”
National Women’s Studies Association Conference, San Juan, PR
2014 Discussant, “Crossing Disciplinary Borders: Innovating to Educate”
Race and Pedagogy National Conference
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2012 Session Organizer, “Deploying Decolonial Imaginaries: Chicana/Latina Feminist Practices”
National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Oakland, CA
2011 Session Organizer, “The Women of Color Collective: Creating Spaces for Women of Color in Academia”
Educational Bodies: The Performance of Gender and Sexuality in Academia Conference
Harvard University, Boston, MA
2011 Session Organizer “Testimoniando: Women of Color Share Stories of Resistance and Creating Spaces in
Academia”
National Women Studies Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA
Departmental Service
2016+ Advisory Committee, Women’s and Gender Studies, Gonzaga University
2018-19 Faculty Senate and the Senate’s Policy Committee
2013 Graduate Committee, Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies (GWSS)
2012 Co-organized workshop “How to help a student who has experienced power-based violence” for GWSS Teaching
Assistants.
2012 Award Committee, GWSS
2010 Graduate Student Representative, GWSS
University Service
2018+ Social Justice Committee of the Core Assessment Project
2018+ Mentor, Act Six Scholarship
2016 Mentor, The Leadership, Education, Academic Development, and Success Skills Mentoring Program (LEADS),
Gonzaga University
2014 Co-organized Panel: “Claiming Competence: Women of Color and the Academy”
Women of Color Collective and Women Investigating Race, Ethnicity, and Difference
2011 Senator UW Graduate and Professional Student Senate (until 2013)
2011 Graduate Student Representative UW Faculty Council on Multicultural Affairs (until 2013)
2011 Student Ambassador for the Graduate School Student Speakers
Bureau & Ambassador Program
2010 Women of Color Collective Conference Planning Committee (until 2013)
Public Scholarship
Rodríguez Coss, N. (August 2, 2019). El poder de la protesta y las consignas sanadoras de la diaspora. 80 Grados: https://www.80grados.net/el-poder-de-la-protesta-y-las-consignas-sanadoras-de-la-diaspora/.
Community Involvement/Outreach
2013 Facilitator Staff Workshop “Exploring identities, women's cultures and white privilege in the U.S.,” Non-Profit
Organization New Beginnings: Ending Domestic Violence
Media Coverage
2021 Interview, “We the People: Why stop at 50? Puerto Rico, D.C. could become states under proposals in Congress” by Orion Donovan-Smith, The Spokesman-Review.
2018 Interview, “Gonzaga community members discuss Puerto Rico recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria” by Matthew Kincanon, The Gonzaga Bulletin.
2017 Interview, “Puerto Rico after Maria: GU teaching fellow and San Lorenzo native visits island” by Matthew Kincanon, The Gonzaga Bulletin.
2017 Interview, “Social media hashtag starts conversations about sexual assault” by Matthew Kincanon, The Gonzaga Bulletin.
2014 Interview about performance for article: “V-Day: One Billion Rising to stop domestic violence” by Sarah Stuteville, The Seattle Times.
Related Professional Skills
2014 Interactive Theater Summer Institute
Illumination Project
Portland Community College
2012 Member Interactive Theater as Pedagogy Project (until 2016)
University of Washington
Languages
Spanish: native language.
English: second language.
Professional Memberships
National Women’s Studies Association
International Small Islands Studies Association
Puerto Rican Studies Association